Christmas at Hogwarts
by Molly's Monsters
Summary: It's Christmas and James and Lily are the only two Gryffindors staying over. Jily.


**Author's Note: I do not own Harry Potter. This is amberlizbeth's Christmas present, which explains all the heterosexuality.**

James bounded down the stairs the first morning of Christmas break. If he was correct, there was only one other Gryffindor staying at Hogwarts over break.

"Evans! What a fine morning this is."

"It's the afternoon, James. You slept through lunch. Now, be quiet. I'm reading."

"Splendid, splendid. Now, come out for a walk with me."

"I told you, I'm reading."

"So take a break. What is it anyway?"

"The Little Prince," she said flatly, only barely glancing up at him.

"Never heard of it."

"It's a book for muggle children."

"Hmmm. Interesting." James began pacing.

"What do you want to go on a walk for anyway?"

"It's just started snowing outside. Besides, there's hardly anyone in the castle. It's eerie."

Lily stared at him questioningly for a moment, then stood up and wrapped a blanket around her. "Come on, then. Let's go."

"You're not going to get changed?"

"You said yourself there's no one here. Besides, I've made a commitment to my pajamas. We're getting quite serious."

James chuckled and led the way out. He caught the door just before she closed it. "The Fat Lady's gone. We might not be able to get back in for a while."

"Risk it?" she asked.

"Risk it," he smiled, letting the door close behind him.

"It is nice to have a quiet castle. Come Easter, everyone in our year will stay behind to start studying for N.E.W.T.s." It was little more than small talk, but she wasn't doing it out of politeness. She seemed comfortable talking to him.

They wandered aimlessly for hours. James even pretended to be lost a few times. They watched the sunset through the windows in the North Tower. James grabbed both her hands and led her outside.

"It's cold," Lily protested.

"It's beautiful."

The snow blanketed the grounds, smooth and unbroken. The moonlight reflected off the snow, making it seem as though the whole castle was glowing. Lily moved closer to James and rested her head on his shoulder. They stayed like that for minutes, not speaking. James broke the silence. "We should go down for dinner." After a few beats, they turned and headed down the staircase.

"I'm surprised you're not at home this year, Evans."

"Same to you."

James paused. "Too much of this handsome face and I might blind my parents. They couldn't handle it. No, Mum and Dad just went on a trip to do some muggle thing. Skiing, I think they called it. It didn't interest me, so I figured I'd stay here."

"Harriet Potter on skis? I can hardly imagine the sight."

"I don't know why they're doing it, really. Something for work, I suppose."

"Things are...complicated at home, especially with my sister. I didn't want to make things worse."

"If there's anything I can—"

"No, it's...it's fine," she breathed. "Race you to the Great Hall?"

Their rapid footsteps echoed through the empty halls. James got to the door first and shot off some celebratory sparks. As they walked into the Great Hall, they were bombarded with the smell of cinnamon and found themselves staring at a massive tree with ornaments the size of quaffles. Lily immediately walked over to the Hufflepuff table where a dozen other students were sitting. They were ravenous and ate everything in sight.

Just as Lily was finishing her second slice of gingerbread, the ornaments on the tree began to whistle and tinkle a Christmas ballad. James stood up and held out his hand. "Lily..." She looked a bit surprised, but took his hand. He led her to an open space at the end of the tables. He hesitated, but she guided his hand to her waist. They stumbled at first, but eventually fell in perfect sync. She rested her head on his shoulder and he felt his chest tighten.

The music stopped and the two broke apart to applaud. They weren't sure quite who or what they were applauding, but they clapped nonetheless.

"We should—"

"Yeah..."

Lily smiled shyly and grabbed her blanket. They wandered silently toward Gryffindor tower.

"No...no, no, no!" James kicked the wall in frustration.

"We knew this might happen."

She grabbed James to stop him from punching the door. "It's okay. Really. Come on. Sit down." Lily spread the blanket over them both. "Got anything in your pockets to amuse us?"

"Just the last of my veritaserum."

Lily's eyes went wide with excitement. She scooted around to face him. "I've got some Bertie Bott's. We could play Extreme Truth."

James's face gave away his surprise. He didn't expect that from Lily. But he had been surprised by her all day.

***

"That's easy. Sirius, of course."

"Really? If you had to snog one guy in the school, it'd be your best friend?"

"He's an extremely handsome man," James implored. Lily fell over in a fit of laughter. She had become giggly just from the silliness of the whole situation. "All right. Your choice. You know the rules. Handful of Bertie Bott's or you take the veritaserum."

Lily took a handful of Bertie Bott's and popped them all in her mouth. She stared at James, intent upon not grimacing, but it was impossible. It always was. James laughed as she pulled a face.

"Evans?"

"Yes?"

"Why did you come down with me this morning?"

Lily paused a moment.

"This isn't part of the game. You don't have to answer."

She did answer. They were sitting close enough together that it wasn't hard for her to lean over and meet his lips with hers.

***

The Fat Lady returned after a while, but Lily had already fallen asleep in James's lap as he read her book to her. He kept reading long after she had drifted off. This was a moment he didn't want to end.


End file.
